What is the meaning of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “I have been given the Qur’aan and something like it along with it”?

 

What is the meaning of the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “I have been given the Qur’aan and something like it along with it”?.

Praise be to Allaah.

This hadeeth is one of the sound hadeeths that are proven to
be from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
What is meant by the words “ and something like it along with it” is that
Allah has given him another revelation, which is the Sunnah which explains
the Qur’aan and clarifies its meanings, as Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad
صلىالله عليه وسلم)
the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur’aan)], that you may explain
clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought”

[al-Nahl 16:44] 

So Allah revealed the Qur’aan to him and also the Sunnah,
which is the hadeeth which are proven to be from him (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him), which have to do with prayer, zakaah, fasting, Hajj and
other religious and worldly matters. The Sunnah is a second revelation which
Allah revealed to him to complete the message, and he (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) expressed that in the hadeeths which he explained to
the ummah in word and in deed and by means of his approval, such as his
saying: “Deeds are but by intentions, and each man will have but that which
he intended”; and “The prayer of one of you will not be accepted if he
breaks wind until he does wudoo’”; and “No prayer is accepted without
purification, and no charity is excepted from wealth acquired by treacherous
means”; and “The five daily prayers, one Ramadan to another, and one Jumu’ah
to another, are expiation for the sins that come in between them, so long as
you do not commit major sins.” And there are many other saheeh hadeeths
which speak of everything that a person needs to know and which have to do
with explanation of the Book of Allah. This revelation is a revelation that
Allah revealed to him, of which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) spoke and explained to the ummah. The meanings are revelation from
Allah, and the words are from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), like the words quoted above: “Actions are but by intention...”
and like his words: “The two parties to a transaction have the option (of
cancelling it) so long as they have not yet parted...” 

The second revelation which was given to the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) also includes the sacred hadeeth
(hadeeth qudsi) which the Messenger transmitted from his Lord, may He be
glorified and exalted. They are revelation from Allah and are His words, but
they do not come under the same ruling as the Qur’aan, such as what the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, narrating it from
his Lord: “O My slaves, I have forbidden injustice to Myself, and I have
made it forbidden among you, so do not wrong one another. O My slaves, all
of you are misguided except those whom I guide, so ask Me for guidance, I
will guide you...” this is a lengthy hadeeth, which was narrated by Muslim
in his Saheeh from Abu Dharr al-Ghifaari (may Allah be pleased with
him). All of that is included in the words of Allah (interpretation of the
meaning):

“By the star when it goes down (or vanishes).

2. Your companion (Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم)
has neither gone astray nor has erred.

3. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.

4. It is only a Revelation revealed”

[al-Najm 53:1-4] 

What is meant by the fitan in which the one who is sitting will be better than the one who is standing?

 

Kindly let su know what is meant by the hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah (radiyahllaahu anhu) when he quoted from the Messenger of Allaah (salla-llaahu alayhi wa sallam) something to the effect that Lots of fitan will be seen, the one who is sitting in it is better than the one who is standing, the one who is standing in it is better than the one who is walking...?

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

The hadeeth referred to was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may
Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: “There will be tribulations during which one who sitting
is better than one who is standing, and one who standing is better than one
who is walking, and one who is walking is better than one who is running. He
who exposes himself to them will be drawn to them and whoever find a refuge
from them, let him seek protection therein.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3601) and Muslim (2886). 

Secondly: 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
commenting on the meaning of this hadeeth): 

The words “He who exposes himself to them” mean, the one who
wants to find out about them and does not want to ignore them. 

“will be drawn to them” means: they will destroy him, because
he will expose himself to destruction because of them.  

“whoever find a refuge from them” means a place where he may
seek refuge from the evil (of these turmoils). 

“let him seek protection therein” means: let him withdraw to
that place so that he may be safe from the evil of the turmoil. 

The explanation of this hadeeth is also found in Saheeh
Muslim, in the hadeeth of Abu Bakr, which says: “When they come, whoever
has camels let him stay with his camels,” -- and he mentioned sheep and
land. A man said: O Messenger of Allaah, what do you think if he does not
have camels or sheep or land? He said: “Let him go to his sword and make it
blunt with a stone, then let him try to find a way of escape if he can. End
quote. 

Fath al-Baari (13/30); see also
Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 18/9 

Thirdly: 

What is meant by these tribulations is what will happen among
the Muslims of fighting, hatred and enmity, or disputes over worldly
matters, without stating which of the two parties is in the right or which
is in the wrong. 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to the words “one who sitting is better than one
who is standing”, Ibn al-Teen narrated from al-Dawoodi that it seems that
what is meant is those who are fully involved in the turmoil and is part of
it, i.e., some of them will be more involved in that than others. The
highest of them in that will be the one who is running, who will be a cause
of stirring them up; then comes the one who is keeping them going, and he is
the one who is walking. Then comes the one who is involved in them, and he
is the one who is standing. Then comes the one who is just looking on, and
does not fight, and he is the one who is sitting. Then comes the one who is
avoiding it, and is neither involved nor looking on, and he is the one who
is lying down yet is awake. Then comes the one who does not do any of that,
but he accepts it, and he is the one who is sleeping.

 What is meant by this listing of who is superior in goodness
is the one who is less evil than the one above him in the details
mentioned. 

This is a warning against tribulation and encourages us to
avoid getting involved in it, and it tells us that its evil that a person
may acquire from it will be according to how much he is involved in it.  End
quote. 

Fath al-Baari, 13/30-31 

And Allah knows best.

Principles and guidelines for Muslims’ relations with non-Muslims

 

We want to know in detail how Muslims regard non-Muslims, and how they should deal with them according to Islamic sharee’ah?

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

1-    
Islam is the religion of mercy
and justice.

2-    
Muslims are commanded to call
non-Muslims to Islam with wisdom and beautiful preaching and by debating in
a manner that is better. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and
Christians), unless it be in (a way) that is better (with good words and in
good manner, inviting them to Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except
with such of them as do wrong”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:46]

3-    
Allaah does not accept any
religion other than Islam. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will
never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

4-    
The Muslims should give the
kaafirs the opportunity to hear the words of Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And if anyone of the Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters,
pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah) seeks your protection then
grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allaah (the Qur’aan)
and then escort him to where he can be secure”

[al-Tawbah 9:6]

5-    
The Muslims should
differentiate between different kinds of kaafirs in their dealings with
them. They should make peace with those who make peace, and wage war against
those who wage war, and wage jihad against those who stand in the way of
spreading the message of Islam and causing it to prevail of earth.

6-    
With regard to matters of love
and hate in the heart, the Muslims’ attitude towards non-Muslims is based on
the latter’s attitude towards Allaah. If they worship Allaah and do not
associate anything in worship with Him, then they love them. If they
associate others in worship with Him, or disbelieve in Him, or worship
others alongside Him, or are hostile towards His religion and hate the
truth, then it is obligatory to hate them in our hearts.

7-    
Hating them in our hearts does
not mean that we should oppress or mistreat them under any circumstances,
because Allaah said to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), describing what his attitude should be towards the People of the
Book:

“and I am commanded to do justice among you. Allaah is our
Lord and your Lord. For us our deeds and for you your deeds”

[al-Shoora 42:15 – interpretation of the meaning]

even though he is a Muslim and they are following Judaism or
Christianity.

8-    
The Muslims believe that it is
not permissible, under any circumstances whatsoever, for a Muslim to
mistreat a non-Muslim who is not hostile towards Islam; so the Muslim should
not commit aggression against him, or frighten him, or terrorize him, or
steal his wealth, or embezzle him, or deprive him of his rights, or deny him
his trust, or deny him his wages, or withhold from him the price of his
goods when buying from him or withhold the profits of a partnership if he is
in a business partnership with him.

9-    
The Muslims believe that it is
obligatory upon the Muslims to honour treaties or agreements made with a
non-Muslim party. If a Muslim has agreed to their conditions when seeking
permission to enter their country (i.e., a visa) and has promised to adhere
to that, then it is not permissible for him to commit mischief in their
land, to betray anyone, to steal, to kill or to do any destructive action,
and so on.

10-The Muslims believe
that in the case of non-Muslims who wage war against them and drive them out
of their homes, or help others to do so, it is permissible for Muslims to
shed the blood of these non-Muslims and confiscate their wealth.

11-The Muslims believe
that it is permissible for a Muslim to treat kindly those non-Muslims who
are not hostile, whether by offering financial help, feeding the hungry,
giving them loans if needed or interceding with regard to permissible
matters, or speaking kindly to them or returning their greetings, and so on.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Allaah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with
those who fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of
your homes. Verily, Allaah loves those who deal with equity”

[al-Mumtahanah 60:8]

12-There is no reason
why Muslims should not cooperate with non-Muslims with regard to
establishing truth and combating falsehood, to support the oppressed and
ward off danger from mankind, such as cooperating to fight pollution or to
protect the environment, or to combat epidemic diseases and so on.

13-The Muslims believe
that there are differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in specific
rulings such as diyah (blood money), inheritance, marriage, guardianship in
marriage, entering Makkah etc., as is explained in the books of Islamic fiqh
(jurisprudence). This is based on the commands of Allaah and His Messenger
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We cannot regard
as equal one who believes in Allaah alone with no partner or associate and
one who disbelieves in Allaah or one who disbelieves in Allaah and joins
others in worship with Him, or who turns away from the true religion.

14-Muslims are
commanded to call people to Allaah in all the Muslim countries and other
lands. They must convey the true religion of Allaah to the world and build
mosques in all parts of the world, and send daa’iyahs (callers) to
non-Muslim countries and invite their leaders to enter the religion of
Allaah.

15-The Muslims believe
that other people who are following other religions are not following any
true religion, so the Muslims do not allow others to send missionaries to
build churches in Muslim countries. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Is then he who is a believer like him who is a Faasiq
(disbeliever and disobedient to Allaah)? Not equal are they”

[al-Sajdah 32:18]

Whoever thinks that
Islam is equal to other religions is making a serious mistake. But the
Muslim scholars have opened the door to debate with non-Muslims and allow
the opportunity to discuss with and listen to non-Muslims and explain the
truth to them.

 Finally, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

 “Say (O Muhammad): O people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and
you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone), and that we associate no
partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides
Allaah.’ Then, if they turn away, say: ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims’”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:64]

 “And had the people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians) believed, it would have been better for
them”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:110].

Prohibition on celebrating the festivals of the kuffaar

 

Is it permissible for Muslims to take part in their festivals, such as Christmas?

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

It is not permissible for the Muslim to join the kuffaar in
their festivals and to express joy and happiness on these occasions, or to
take the day off work, whether the occasion is religious or secular, because
this is a kind of imitating the enemies of Allaah, which is forbidden, and a
kind of co-operating with them in falsehood. It was proven that the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” And Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): 

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and
transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in
punishment”[al-Maa'idah 5:2] 

We advise you to refer to
the book Iqtidaa’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), for it is very useful on this
topic. [Translator’s note: This book is available in English under the title
“The Right Way,” published by Darussalam, Riyadh]. 

And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace. 

Giving blood to a kaafir who is not hostile towards Islam and who is not in a state of war with us

 

What is the ruling about giving blood in land of Kufr that will be probably given to a Kaafir?


There is the case of children suffering from blood illness and they are in desperate need of blood platelets? Is the ruling the same?


I was told by an imaam that blood should not be given?


Can you please answer with daleel?

Praise
be to Allaah.

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about that and he
said: 

“I do not know of any reason not to do that, because Allaah says in His Book
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Allaah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who
fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your
homes”

[al-Mumtahanah 60:8] 

So Allaah tells us that He does not
forbid us to deal justly and kindly with those kaafirs who are not fighting
us and who have not driven us out of our homes, or with those who are in
urgent need of help. The mother of Asmaa’ bint Abi Bakr al-Siddeeq (may
Allaah be pleased with her) came to her daughter in Madeenah, at the time of
the peace treaty between the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and the people of Makkah, and she was still a kaafir, to ask her
to uphold the ties of kinship. Asmaa’ consulted the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he told her to uphold the ties of
kinship, saying, “Uphold the ties of kinship with your mother even though
she is a kaafir.” 

If a kaafir who has a peace treaty with the Muslims or is under the
protection of the Muslims, and is not hostile towards Islam and is not in a
state of war with us is in urgent need, then there is nothing wrong with
giving blood to him. You will be rewarded for that, because there is nothing
wrong with you helping one who is in urgent need of charity or help. 

From Kitaab Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, vol. 1, p. 376 

Based on the above, if the kaafir is
hostile or in a state of war with the Muslims, then it is not permissible to
give him blood, because by doing so you are helping him in his aggression
against the Muslims. This is a very serious matter. We ask Allaah to keep us
safe and sound. 

Muslims demonstrating in support of their Palestinian brothers

 

The Muslim community here in southern Sweden has decided to hold a demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The demonstration will be peaceful, aimed at conveying the voice of the Muslims to the Swedish government, to put pressure on them to stop the massacres of the children of the Palestinian people. What is the ruling on such demonstrations? We would like to inform you that these demonstrations will play a great role and be very effective in conveying the views of the Muslims to the politicians, to put pressure on the Zionist government to put a stop to the massacres of the children in Palestine. Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with good.

Praise be to Allaah. 

There
is nothing wrong with the Muslim community in Sweden protesting in order
to reduce the pressure on the Muslims in Palestine and to draw the attention
of the Swedish people and government to the crimes which the Jews are
committing against the Muslims in Palestine, and using all effective
and Islamically-acceptable means of doing so.

But
demonstrations may involve a number of things which are forbidden in
sharee’ah, so it is essential to guard against them. These include:

women going out wearing
adornment and make-up; using music in the demonstration; shouting slogans
that are incorrect, such as “al-Quds (Jerusalem) is Arab and will remain
Arab” (in fact, al-Quds is Islamic and is not for the Arabs only); stopping
the demonstration in front of a kaafir’s tomb and placing bouquets of
flowers on his grave; begging the kaafirs for help by using phrases
that are humiliating to the Muslims; holding up pictures or effigies
of people; doing wrong to others such as blocking the road or preventing
people from passing by; using slanderous and insulting words that are
not  permitted in sharee’ah; men and women mixing during the demonstration;
imitating the kuffaar in any of their unique characteristics such as
clothing or symbols that the demonstrators may wear; committing acts
of aggression against the property of innocent people, such as destroying
their shops or breaking their windows, or starting fires in public facilities,
and other haraam actions. And Allaah knows best.

Attending the festivals of the mushrikeen and congratulating them

 

Is it permissible to attend the celebrations of Christian festivals and congratulate them?

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: it is not
permissible for the Muslims to attend the festivals of the mushrikeen,
according to the consensus of the scholars whose words carry weight. The
fuqaha’ who follow the four schools of thought have stated this clearly in
their books… Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Umar ibn
al-Khattaab that he said: “Do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their
churches on the day of their festival, for divine wrath is descending upon
them.” And ‘Umar also said: “Avoid the enemies of Allaah on their
festivals.” Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Amr that he said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and
celebrates their new year and festival and imitates them until he dies in
that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” (Ahkaam
Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/723-724). 

With regard to congratulating them on their festivals, this has already been answered in Question no. 947, which we advise you to refer to.